mountaineering

Maybe you're taking the classic aproach to learning the fine art of traditional leading and anchor building (namely trial and error -- survive the first year and maybe you will have learned something), or maybe just curious what the occasional refernece to a cordelette on rec.climbing is all about. In any case John Longs approach to anchor building is an easy to understand (meaning plenty of photos and examples!) and knowledge packed book backed up by John's years of experience on the rock and complemented by his skills as a story teller. A recommended reference for the beginner tinkering with gear on the ground or the experienced leader who has perhaps grown rusty (and anyone else who occasionally has to construct and trust an anchor...).

This book is required reading for every aspiring rock climber. Long provides explanations of the subtleties of placing nuts and cams that cannot be found anywhere else in print. The book's one flaw is that it somewhat overemphasizes using the rope to equalize multi-point anchor systems, a problem that is corrected in "More Climbing Anchors," the companion text by John Long and Bob Gaines.

This book is extremely valuable for learning how to place protection or setting up anchors for trad climbing or top rope anchor setup. My friends and I carefully studied this book and went out and practiced placing gear and setting up anchors from the ground. When we went and took an anchor building class, we learned a lot of good tips, but the information we learned from this book helped us rapidly advance in our class. This book also is very helpful after you learn your basics because you can analyze various anchor setups and compare it to the analysis in the book. One drawback of this or any other book is that a picture is never as good as inspecting protection on your own at various angles close up. For this reason, you will want to go climbing with a more experienced partner or an instructor so they can give you more detailed feedback on your own protection placement skills.